History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 229

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928

USA > California > Santa Clara County > History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 229

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PETER TALIA .- Despite the handicap of being born in a foreign country, Peter Talia has made good in the country of his choice, and has steadily added to his finances, until he has reached a condi- tion of affluence enjoyed by many of the ranchers of Santa Clara Valley. He was born in Dalmatia, Aus- tria, on April 18, 1875, the son of Peter Mathias and Raffie (Zlovecera) Talia. The father was a seafar- ing man and had crossed the Atlantic ocean twenty- six times in the old fashioned sail ships. He lived to be seventy-two years old, and the mother passed away in her seventy-fourth year. There were five children in the family, Peter being the youngest. He attended the grammar school in Dalmatia until he was thirteen years old; then went to sea in the coasting trade, on vessels plying the Adriatic Sea and re- mained in that line of work for three years. In 1891 he left Trieste, Austria, and went to Hamburg, Ger- many, and then set sail for America; arriving in New York City he came by rail to San Jose, and here he worked for his brother-in-law, Nicholas Scorsur, and the following eight years on various ranches. Say- ing his money, he began buying and selling fruit, and soon had sufficient money to purchase a three-acre place on Pine Avenne, which he soon sold and in- vested the proceeds in a seven-acre ranch on Minne- sota Avenue and also a two-acre ranch on the same avenue, which was the headquarters for his fruit business. He sold the two-acre ranch and later the seven-acre place to the Western Pacific Railroad and invested in two ranches in the Campbell district, one of twelve acres and the other of ten acres, both sit- uated on Bndd Avenue; later a nineteen-acre ranch was bonght in the same district. All these places he sold and purchased a ranch at Saratoga containing fourteen and a half acres, and also another fourteen and a half adjoining and these two ranches he has retained; these places are in full-bearing apricot and prune trees. He also purchased ten acres in the Ever- green district, but held it only a short time, and in- vested in a twenty-two-acre ranch at Los Gatos on the Almaden road; selling that, he purchased his

Peter. Talia.

Domenica Talia

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present home place of nineteen acres, a prune and apricot orchard on the Santa Clara-Los Gatos Road, now his home place where he resides with his family.

In San Jose on May 10, 1904, Mr. Talia was united in marriage to Miss Dominica Genavich, also horn in Dalmatia, Austria. She is the daughter of Peter and Mary ( Valajo) Genavich, her father an orchard- ist in his native land, There were five children in the family, Mrs. Talia being the fourth. In 1903, she came to Santa Clara County, Cal., and lived with her sister, Annie, now the widow of the late John Scorsur, until her marriage to Mr. Talia. Mr. and Mrs. Talia are the parents of five children: Ruth, a graduate of Heald's Business College; Mary attends Campbell high school; Rosie, Matt and Peter. Mr. and Mrs. Talia appreciate the value of an education and are striving to give their children the best schooling with- in their means. Mr. Talia is an active member of the Austria Benevolence Society of San Jose and is loyal to American ideals. Mr. Talia recalls his early experiences in the valley, how he worked six- teen hours a day applying himself closely to his work until he saved sufficient money to get a start. He was honest and industrious and soon made a record for integrity, so that when he began in the fruit business, people had confidence in him, and he soon acquired enough capital to buy land and grow fruit. A natural mechanic, Mr. Talia saw the advantage of tractors for farming, using the most modern machinery be- cause he is able to repair and keep it in running order. He gives much credit to his estimable wife, who has assisted him in every way, by learning every detail of the fruit business, and when Mr. Talia was away, buying and transacting other business, she was at the plant attending to sorting, dipping and handling the fruit, besides attending to her household duties and caring for the children. Thus in the same way, Mr. and Mrs. Talia are training their children to be industrious and honest and thus become useful citi- zens of their country.

G. LACOSTE .- A welcome addition to the busi- ness circles of Palo Alto is found in G. Lacoste, the genial and enterprising proprietor of the French Laundry, located at 642 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, Cal., where he does fine work and is giving the best of satisfaction to his large patronage. He was born in France near Massous, Hautes Pyrenees, on Sep- tember 24, 1886. His father, Peter Lacoste, was a carpenter by occupation in France and served his country as a soldier in the war of 1871; he became well-to-do and owned a number of houses in Mas- sous and about fifty acres of land. His father passed away in France in December, 1921, at the age of eighty-two years, but his mother, Mary Lacoste, is still living there.

G. Lacoste attended the public schools in France and there learned the laundry business. In 1906 he set sail for New York and then crossed the country to San Francisco during the same year. He had no trouble in finding employment in a laundry in San Francisco and continued until the recent war, when he worked as a machinist, continuing for two years; then he was the proprietor of a laundry in San Francisco. In 1921 he removed to Palo Alto and purchased this business and is succeeding even be- yond his expectations.

On May 1, 1921, Mr. Lacoste was married to Miss Louise Lanassus, a native of France, and together

they are making a splendid success of the laundry business. Mr. Lacoste keeps a well-lighted, well- ventilated, clean and sanitary laundry and employs three men and four women. He is public-spirited and is taking his place among the business men of his locality.

ALBERT M. MEYER,-A native of California, who is making good as proprietor of the Chatterton Bakery Company at San Jose, is Albert M. Meyer, who was born December 7, 1890, in San Francisco, the son of Martin and Meta C. (Tietjen) Meyer. Martin Meyer came to California in the year of 1874, embarked in the grocery business and for fifteen years was manager of the Consumers' Compressed Yeast Company of San Francisco, but now retired and resides in Burlingame.

Albert M. Meyer enjoyed the educational privi- leges of the grammar and high schools of San Fran- cisco, and carly in life became self-supporting. For some time he was a traveling salesman and then spent six years as manager of the Oregon and Wash- ington offices of the Consumers' Compressed Yeast Company and later located in San Jose, purchasing the business of the Chatterton Bakery Company and he has since continued there, doing a very large business, both locally and throughout the county, as the superior quality of his bread, fancy cakes and pastries have been found so dependable, that they have created a strong and increasing demand. Mr. Meyer gives every detail of the business his careful attention, sparing no effort to please his large and growing list of patrons, and lie also employs the services of twelve competent people to aid him.

Mr. Meyer's marriage united him with Miss Augusta C. Henne, and they are the parents of two children, Gayle Kathleen and Lucille. Mr. Meyer, associated with W. J. Connors, the inventor, and William Kaiser, promoted the Individual Wash Laundry, the plant being located at Orchard and Balbach streets and equipped with special patented machinery for doing individual washing, showing an investment of over $100,000 when fully equipped for service. He is a popular member of the Hundred Per Cent Club, Lions Club, Commercial Club, and Chamber of Commerce, and he is a thirty-second de- gree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S, of San Francisco. A public-spirited citizen he is a supporter of all projects that are for the good of the community and for the uplift or the upbuilding of the city in which he lives.

CHRISTIAN M. KLOTZ-W. A. ALLEN .- A native of Germany, Christian M. Koltz was born in Stein, Baden, in 1827, and received his education in that district. When he was still a young man he came to the United States, first settling in New Jersey, and there he married Miss Margaret Peoples. a native of Belfast, County Antrim, Ireland, of Scotch descent, who came to the United States in 1849. In 1861 the family removed to California and located

at San Jose, in 1864, after a visit to Germany, they took up their residence in Bridgeport, Conn., re- maining until 1867, when they returned to California and San Jose, where they have continuously resided. Mr. Klotz was engaged for a short time in gardening and then started a winery in San Jose; he also set out a twenty-acre vineyard near Saratoga. He died in 1889 and his widow survived him until 1896. They

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

had two children, Christina, now Mrs. Allen of Saratoga, and John, who died in 1893.

Christina Klotz was born in San Jose, and in 1894 was married to Samuel Harper, a native of Belfast. Ireland, after which they took up their residence on the Klotz ranch. Mr. Harper died in 1913 and in 1915 Mrs. Harper married a second time, being united with William A. Allen who was born in 1851 in Buffalo, N. Y., where he was reared and educated. At the age of twenty-one he came West and was engaged as purser with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for twenty-five years. A son of Mr. Allen's by a former marriage, Milton S. Allen, enlisted in the Marines and passed away at Mare Island in No- vember, 1918. Mr. Allen was prominent in Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar and a Scottish Rite Mason. He passed away on January 12, 1917, a genial, kindly gentleman, who was mourned by a large circle of friends. Mrs. Allen resides on the homeplace, located on the Mountain View Road, which consists of twenty acres in full-bearing orchard.

EDWARD P. GIACOMAZZI .- Enviably promi- nent, popular and influential for great good, Edward P. Giacomazzi of Milpitas, may well feel that he is enjoying some definite reward for the years of labor and risk which have led up to the position he now occupies as one of the representative men of affairs in Santa Clara County. A native son, he was born at San Jose on March 22, 1879, the son of Peter and Poalina Giacomazzi, worthy folks who never failed to have the confidence and esteem of those who knew them. His father was a native of Canton Ticino, Switzerland, and when a young man, he came out to the United States and California, and settled in Santa Clara County. At first, he worked in the lumber mill on the Alameda, and later he engaged in the cattle business near Pescadero. Edward attended Santa Clara College, and also the old Garden City Business College on Market Street; and after a while his father discontinued stockraising and embarked in the handling of general merchandise, at Soledad, in Monterey County. From his father, he learned the ins and outs of the trade, and for ten years was his right-hand man. Then he became one of the book- keepers at the Spreckels Sugar Company, at Spreck- els, Cal., and that responsibility he continued to discharge for a twelve-month.

Peter Giacomazzi then sold his business at Soledad and removed to San Jose, where he joined Felix Maggini in a partnership to conduct a general mer- chandise store on Thirteenth Street; and Edward remained with his father in this new venture for four years. In 1903 he came to Milpitas and. having bought out Mr. Muller. established for himself a general merchandise store. In 1905, he was appointed the postmaster at Milpitas, and he was also made deputy county clerk under Henry Pfister. In 1911, Mr. Giacomazzi cooperated in the founding of the Bank of Milpitas, and so well has this institution been conducted that the Bank of Milpitas has the record of being the first bank in Santa Clara County to pay dividends the second year of its existence. Mr. Giacomazzi has heen a director of the bank since its establishment, and since 1917, when he was elected to succeed Michael Lynn, has been its president.

At San Jose, in 1899, Mr. Giacomazzi was married to Miss Amelia Ramelli, a native of Santa Clara Coun- ty, and the daughter of Joseph and Mary Ramelli. Her

father, a very early pioneer, was a dairyman when he came to California, and he had a dairy farm of 120 acres on Coyote Creek, about twelve miles south of San Jose. One daughter, Elsie, a student at the high school, has blessed the union. Mr. Giacomazzi is a member of Lodge No. 522 of the B. P. O. E., and he is also a strong Republican.

JAMES HIATT .- One of the successful and pro- gressive horticulturists of the Santa Clara Valley is James Hiatt, whose twenty-acre prune orchard on Union Avenue is among the most productive and profitable in the county. He is a native of Wayne County, Ind., and was born on November 4, 1877, a son of Edward and Martha (Wellock) Hiatt. In 1891 the family removed to California and settled in the Santa Clara Valley, where the father passed away; previous to their removal to the coast, where James' two brothers, Archie and Lee, had preceded the rest of the family, they had lived in Kansas, and there our subject had received his education.

The marriage of Mr. Hiatt united him with Miss Effie Randall, a native of Colorado, and they are the parents of a son, Richard James. Besides intensively cultivating his twenty-acre prune orchard, he owns a ranch in the mountains, and when opportunity af- fords spends a time in the mountains hunting and fishing. In his political affiliation he is a strict ad- herent of the Republican party; fraternally he is a Yoeman. His interest in the progress and prosperity of Santa Clara County is manifested by his support of all measures of advancement. He enjoys the re- spect and esteem of his fellowmen and is one of the substantial citizens of his locality.

WILLIAM C. BARTLETT .- A progressive young inan who is interested in developing additional facil- ities in the field of transportation is William C. Bart- lett, local agent at San Jose, for the Pickwick and the Star stage lines. He is a man of executive force and a pleasing personality and is doing his share in building up a good business for these companies, and thus providing a new means of travel, com- fortable and attractive, that has made California famous all over the country.

Mr. Bartlett was born at Pittsburgh, Pa., and there received his education in the public schools. When he reached his fourteenth year he went to work in the steel industry and was for a long time in the employ of Crucible Steel and later entered the em- ploy of the American Sheet and Tin Plate Company at Pittsburgh. He then enlisted in the Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Regiment and went to France where he served for a period of eighteen months, receiving five wounds during this service overseas. He served in a number of the more important battles, the Bat- tle of Chateau Thierry, the second battle of the Marne and the Vesle River and having risen to the rank of sergeant, was honorably discharged, and after the armistice returned to the United States. He came to California in 1919, arriving in San Jose on June 27, bringing with him his family and im- mediately became engaged in his present business. The Pickwick Stage business is expanding, and now covers an immense territory along the Pacific Coast, with connections from Portland, Ore., to the Im- perial Valley, and covering 3,500 miles of California, Oregon and Old Mexico's seenic highways. About a year ago the Pickwick Stage Company took over the site of the Peerless Stage Depot and under the

Edward Piaconmarge

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

good management and the interest in which Mr. Bartlett attends to business, the trade has more than doubled. He is an able and active young man, with energy and perseverance, and is making good.

Mr. Bartlett's marriage, which occurred in Pitts- burgh, Pa., on October 16, 1911, united him with Miss Nellie Moore, and they are the parents of a child, Alice. Mr. Bartlett is a member of the American Legion. He is always interested in the welfare of the city of San Jose and joins in sanc- tioning any good movement which will help to up- build this attractive, thriving city.

OLE JORDHEIM .- Industry and perseverance have been leading traits in the career of Ole Jord- heim, junior member of the firm known as the Fault- less Bakery, conducting a wholesale and retail baking business in San Jose. Mr. Jordheim was born in Jordheim, Gol Parish, Hallingdale, Norway, August 15, 1891, the son of Ole and Barbara (Grothe) Brandwold, both natives of Norway. The father had fine educational advantages in his native country, and in 1900 he removed with his family to Edinburg, N. D., where he owns a large general merchandise store. The mother passed away when Ole was a child of seven. She was the daughter of Odd Grothe, better known as the "Larer og Kirkesanger," teacher and deacon in the parish of Hemsedal. Although eighty-eight years of age, he is still active and holds an important position, able to teach and lead the singing in the parish church. Mr. Brandwold was married a second time and lives in North Dakota.

After the death of his mother, Ole Jordheim went to live with his maternal grandfather. His educa- tion was obtained in the government schools of his native parish, later he took a course of two years in the Christiania high school, where he became well versed in the English and Norwegian languages. His first ambition after finishing school, was to be- come a teacher, but the glowing tales of oppor- tunity and wealth to be gained in America proved too alluring, and he sailed from Christiania, arriving at Hull, England, thence by rail to Liverpool, where he again took passage, arriving at Ellis Island, New York in April, 1908. From New York he went to Edinburg, N. D. for a visit to his father. In the fall of 1908 he arrived in San Francisco, where his uncle, Knudt Grothe, was engaged in manufacturing ice- cream cones. Mr. Jordheim was employed in this business for eleven years. At the end of this time, he removed to San Jose where he opened an ice- cream cone factory, but was only engaged in this line for six months. On October 31, 1920, he ac- quired an interest in the Faultless Bakery, purchas- ing Mr. Gold's interest. Since that time, the bakery has been removed to more commodious quarters and remodeled. The firm docs a wholesale and retail business with a capacity of 4000 loaves a day.

The marriage of Mr. Jordheim in San Francisco in 1915, united him with Miss Signe Woldhagen, a native of Trondjhem, Norway. She came from Nor- way to America when but seventeen years of age. Mr. Jordheim is a great lover of music and was for six consecutive years secretary of the Nordmandene's Sangforenig of San Francisco; he is also a member of the Sons of Norway. He gives unstintingly of his time and means to promote measures of advancement of his adopted city. That which has won Mr. Jord-

heim the esteem and popularity so universally ac- corded him is the character which is his both by inheritance and training, his many sterling qualities establishing him firmly in the business and social circles of the city.

MARTIN RAGGETT .- Hailing from San Fran- cisco, Martin Raggett, a native son of California, having first seen the light of day in that city, is the proprietor of one of the leading hotels of San Jose, the St. James, located at 131 North First Street, a four-story structure of 185 rooms, which are all up- to-date in their modern equipment. Mr. Raggett is the son of Michael Raggett, who settled in San Francisco in the carly fifties, where he was a dry goods merchant for many years, becoming well and favorably known. His business was located on the corner of Fourth and Market streets, on the site where the California Theater now stands.

Martin Raggett received his education at the St. Ignatius College and gained a splendid education, after which he entered the business world of San Francisco and here he was engaged for many years. He then went to San Jose, and engaged in the hotel business, purchasing the St. James Hotel October 1, 1920, and here he gives personal attention to the comforts and the wishes of each guest. All of the 185 rooms of this modern hostelry are kept filled, as he caters to the very best commercial and transient trade. The hotel faces the park and is centrally located, making it accessible to the business, manu- facturing and packing districts, also it is in the midst of the amusement and recreational centers of the city of San Jose. Scrupulous cleanliness is one of their best assets; and hot and cold water, steam heat, electricity, elevator service, and beautifully fur- nished rooms contribute to the comfort of the guests. The dining room, which is in connection with the hotel, but is under separate management, is strictly a first-class grill, having popular prices, adding much to the convenience and the advantage of the guests of the hotel.

JOHN A. MATHEWSON .- A cement contractor and builder who has made splendid progress in Santa Clara County is John A. Mathewson. He was born in San Jose, the son of Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Mathew- son, the father being a pioncer carpenter and builder of San Jose; the mother, who is now a widow, still lives in San Jose. Walter G. Mathewson, a brother of John, was secretary of the Builders' Trades Coun- cil of San Jose until his appointment as State Labor Commissioner.

John attended the Hester grammar school at San Jose, and then learned the blacksmith and carriage maker's trade, after which he specialized in carriage making. The growth of the automobile industry caused a change in conditions and he took up cement and concrete work and has become a large general contractor, specializing in cement and concrete work and excavating and grading. For some years he has been doing much bridge building, not only in this county but in the counties along the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles, employing a large force of men for the purpose. He has completed some of the largest bridges in this county.

Mr. Mathewson is a member of the Builders' Association and San Jose Parlor No. 22, Native Sons

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

of the Golden West, and San Jose Aerie No. 8, the Eagles. He has been very successful, but it has all come through hard work and good, practical judg- ment in the use of the money which he earned.

EDWARD CLEMENT YOCCO .- Among the en- terprising and successful business men of Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, Edward C. Yocco is well re- membered, for here he had made his home from 1883 to the time of his death, November 20, 1901. He was a native son, his birth having occurred on San Pedro Street, in San Jose, November 23, 1857. His father, Joaquin Yocco, born in the Alps of North Italy, came around the Horn to California in 1849, and upon his arrival in the state engaged in mining; he then located in San Jose and was suc- cessfully engaged in a general merchandise and com- mission business on Market Street. During this time he was a member of the old Volunteer Fire Company. In 1865 he returned to France and lo- cated in Paris in order that he might educate his children; he died in that city in 1889, when about eighty years of age. His wife, formerly Josephine Huet, a native of Pons, France, died March 4, 1901, at about the same age. Of their two children, Ed- ward C., the subject of this review, was the younger; Pauline married Emile Lebelle of Paris, France.

Edward C. went to the Gates school in San Jose until he was eight years old. after which he was taken to Paris and there attended private academies. He was desirous of returning to California, the place of his birth, and after completing his education he returned to San Jose, which place he had selected for his permanent home. He secured employment with an uncle who was in the commission business in San Jose, and remained with him for four years; then became a clerk for Auzerais & Pomeroy in the City Store on Market Street. He then went to Almaden and was engaged in the butcher business until 1883, when he removed to Los Gatos. For the next six years he worked in a meat market, which he afterwards purchased in 1889, and continued the business as the Los Gatos Market until his death. In the spring of 1898 he purchased a ranch of fifty- seven acres, the Henry B. Norton place at Skyland, having thirty-five acres in orchard and vineyard.

In 1879 Mr. Yocco married Miss Grace Garet, a native of Santa Clara County, who was born in Mayfield, and who passed away in 1889. They were the parents of three children, two sons and one daughter; one son, George H., is a civil engineer at Fall River Mill. Mr. Yocco's second marriage, in Los Gatos, February 18, 1892, united him with Miss Ella Knowles. She is a native of Rock Island County, Ill., born near Fort Byron on the Missis- sippi River, and is the daughter of Smith Shaler Knowles, a native of Ohio, who married Miss Mary Rand Crooks, born in Pittsburgh, Pa. Her maternal great-grandfather, John Cooey, served seven years in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Knowles was a pio- neer of Illinois and took up land near Port Byron. obtaining a deed from the Government, and resided there until his death. The mother spent her last days in Los Gatos and died in 1901. Mrs. Yocco is the youngest of eight children and was reared and educated in the grammar and high schools of Moline, Ill., and in 1883 came to Los Gatos with her mother, where she resided until her marriage to Mr. Yocco. They are the parents of two children; Edward Shaler

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History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 229

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846- Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1928

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928